Bo Jackson’s last spring training for the Kansas City Royals took place 25 years ago. In honor of this anniversary, I’m posting what I think are Bo’s ten greatest plays in a Royals uniform just so we can look back and remember what we’re missing.
Hey, these Royals All-Time lists are fun.
Seriously, folks, if you’re not old enough to remember Bo in a KC Royals uniform, you STILL haven’t seen anyone that athletic take the field for the Royals. Bo played 25 years ago, when sports science, conditioning, and nutrition knowledge were all considerably less than they are today.
The fact is Bo Jackson was an athletic freak. I do not believe anyone has EVER possessed all five baseball “tools” in the same measure that he did.
Mike Trout, Bryce Harper–forget it. Neither of those wunderkinds, as fabulous as they are, come close to Bo’s blend of speed and power.
Neither gave fans the same “wow” factor that Jackson did.
Bo Jackson, however, primarily played football in high school and college. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1986 for Auburn University. He shocked the world by turning down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had picked him no. 1 overall in the NFL draft, to sign with the Kansas City Royals.
Then Bo decided to play football in the “offseason” after Tampa’s draft rights lapsed after one year, and he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders. To Bo Jackson, playing in the NFL was a “hobby”. Thus, Bo never focused his considerable talents on developing his baseball craft.
Consequently, Bo never realized the full flowering of his potential. Yet, in highlights, you see flashes of what he could have been.
NO ONE had his raw power. Not Mark McGwire, not Barry Bonds, or Ken Griffey Jr. What Bo could have done in the offensive environment of the 90’s is anyone’s guess. But the tiny strike zone, and the wave of band box parks could only have helped his home run totals.
As a defensive player, it’s shocking to see that applying advanced metrics to his defensive stats suggests Bo was a below average fielder in his era. That’s just insane because, as some of the following clips show, his talent level was way beyond that.
Clearly, Bo needed more reps on defense. Because the eye test will show you that he had every skill you could want.
Enjoy everyone: there isn’t anything like Bo Jackson today:
Next: August 21, 1989
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 10. Bo Breaks His Bat
There are lots of guys who pull this stunt today, usually over their knee. Bo Jackson was the icon who made breaking his bat a thing.
Many of the players who pull off this feat don’t even know where it comes from. Back when Bo Jackson started doing it, you still had players that didn’t lift weights because they feared becoming “muscle-bound” and “stiff” which would hurt their ability to hit the ball.
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Reggie Jackson, who was a football player in college at Arizona State, was an early proponent of weight training in baseball, as well as California Angels catcher Brian Downing. Yet, still many held to the old school belief.
Thus, when Bo Jackson started breaking bats in frustration after striking out, well, it was a remarkable feat. It’s not just that Bo Jackson could break a bat. He did it so easily. Bo Jackson broke his bat like a regular person snapped a toothpick.
He was a different kind of baseball player.
Just look at the video. In an era where baseball players tended to wear snug uniforms, he bulged with muscle like no one else. He looked like a man playing with grade-schoolers. Even steroid guys like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire didn’t have Bo’s powerful base.
Next: July 21, 1987
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 9. Bo Blows Up Rick Dempsey
Ok. Back in the stone ages of baseball, catchers were supposed to block the plate. It was manly, old- school baseball that showed the game’s hard-nosed roots.
Now, catchers were usually big, strong, squat guys that were like trying to run over a fire plug for most players.
Typically, the big, slugger-type guys were so slow it wasn’t hard to tag them. The fast guys who could be a problem on the bases, were pretty easy to block for the catchers of that era.
Then there was Bo Jackson.
Bo weighed 230 lbs, and could run like a world-class sprinter. Trying to stop Bo Jackson at home plate was like getting in the way of a high-speed bullet train—as veteran catcher Rick Dempsey discovered on July 21, 1987.
As the telecast made clear, Rick Dempsey broke his thumb on the play. Bo Jackson walked away like he ran through a paper banner before a high-school football game.
There really wasn’t anything on a baseball field that Bo couldn’t do. In fact, Bo could pretty much do anything at an elite level. That includes base-running. He was a guy that could hit a home run, rob you of a home run, steal a base, and score a run on a bunt squeeze play.
Unfortunately, Bo Jackson never devoted full time to baseball. His skills needed refinement, which you knew was possible given his ridiculous athletic ability. Sometimes I fantasized about combining Bo Jackson’s physical gifts with George Brett’s baseball skills.
The resulting baseball machine would have put Babe Ruth to shame.
Next: April 18, 1988
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 8. Diving Catch Against Baltimore
Now, this catch made on April 18, 1988 is one of my favorites for an, admittedly, odd reason. You can see not only Bo Jackson’s acrobatic ability, but also the lack of experience that made him a slightly below average defensive outfielder (note the negative DEF ratings on Fangraphs.com).
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Yes. Bo makes a diving grab. Bo also doesn’t get a good read on the ball off the bat. See his hesitation and uncertainty which causes him to take some half-speed steps. When he realizes the ball is going to land out of his reach, he launches himself into a full-out dive.
And makes the play.
Notice also he lays out on carpet, which would give you rub burns. Not only that, fibers from the carpet could get into the wound. If you were busy playing, you’d just brush it off. By the time the game was over, it would be half-healed, with the fibers in the wound.
That would itch like crazy.
Ok. Ok. Bo Jackson also walked to the field up hill, through the snow drifts from the primitive clubhouse wearing a uniform made of animal fur…
All exaggeration aside, this was an era where most players did not carry cell phones. As you can see, there was also a distinct lack of HDTV. Many of the videos we have are blurry. Ask most baseball fans what sabermetrics were, and you might hear them profess to have no knowledge about sword fighting.
As undeveloped as that era—in retrospect—truly was, it still looks like baseball on the field. You just have to ignore, God help us, the frigg’n bleachers that you could see in the background in Baltimore in video no. 10.
Who said tunnel vision was a bad thing?
Next: July 11, 1989
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 7. Bo Leads Off 1989 All-Star Game With A Home Run
By 1989, Bo’s game had developed enough that he was a legitimate star and not just the greatest set of baseball tools walking the planet.
On July. 11, 1989, Bo Jackson played in his first (and only) MLB All-Star game.
If there were any doubts that Bo belonged with the game’s best, he completely erased them in the first inning. In the top of the inning, Bo Jackson made a diving catch to rob Pedro Guerrero on a two out drive to left that saved two runs. (Yeah, it was a great play. I didn’t include it because, well, Bo made a lot of great plays).
Bo then led off the bottom of the first inning. On the first pitch, he blasts a 448 foot home run off N.L. starter Rick Rueschel.
Uh. Yeah. I guess he belonged.
Other fun facts. Play the video. Notice who was calling the game. Sitting alongside legendary broadcast Vin Scully was former President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was then 78 years old, and had been out of office for less than six months.
Oddly enough, Reagan had called college football games on the radio earlier in his career. So, he wasn’t completely lost in the booth. Reagan even recounted playing football in college many years ago.
I doubt the former President saw ANYTHING like Bo on the field back in the days when he played as a 180 lb. guard on the offensive line at Eureka College.
Bo finished the All-Star game going 2 for 4, and added a stolen base. He became only the 2nd player in baseball history to both hit a home run and steal a base in the All-Star game, along with Hall-of-Fame legend Willie Mays. To this day, Jackson is the only player to ever hit a home run and steal a base in the same All-Star game.
Bo Jackson was named the All-Star MVP in the A.L.’s 5-3 victory.
The fact is Bo Jackson stole the show in Anaheim Stadium that day. He did it despite being surrounded by the biggest names in baseball, Hollywood stars, Disney characters, and the former President of the United States.
That’s called being a super-star.
Next: May 31. 1990
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 6. Bo Jackson’s Inside The Park Home Run
On May 31, 1990, the KC Royals played the defending World Champion Oakland A’s. At the time, the Royals and A’s were division rivals in the A.L. West, with the A’s winning the crown by 7 games over the Royals the previous season.
In the 4th inning of that game, Bo Jackson smacks a ball that hit the base of the right field wall in what was then called Royals Stadium. The ball shoots away from Oakland right fielder Jose Canseco (yeah, Mr. Juiced himself) while Bo circles the bases.
Inside the park home run!
This youtube video, however, adds even more fun to the story. The narrator, who said he was at the game, recounts that Canseco had taken an extra base on a single that Bo bobbled for a moment in left field in the top of the 4th inning. He looks at Bo with a “gotcha” look out toward left.
In the 6th, Bo Jackson comes up and hits his inside the park home run right at Canseco. Bo, after quipping up like a gymnast after sliding into the plate, looks out at Canseco with a GOT YOU stare.
The Royals, however, lost the game 6-4.
Despite the Royals 20-26 record which was WAY behind the 32-14 A’s, the Royals were expected to make a run at the division after owner Ewing Kauffman had opened his purse strings to sign free-agents Mark Davis, Storm Davis, and 1988 World Series hero and former league MVP Kirk Gibson. The Royals added these stars to a team that won 90 games in 1989.
The 1990 Royals not only had the biggest payroll in MLB at $20 million, they were the first team in history to open with BOTH Cy Young award winners from the previous season on the same roster (Mark Davis, Bret Saberhagen).
Unfortunately, that team suffered injuries and was a complete flop. The Kansas City Royals won only 75 games in 1990 and finished in 6th place.
Next: July 10, 1988
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 5. Bo Jackson Robs Jack Clark Of A Home Run
Bo Jackson was actually famous in the late 80’s for his many attempts at climbing the walls. He’d jam a spike into the fence and use it as a pedestal to add height to one of his jumps.
Now, he doesn’t do that in this particular video. Here, Bo Jackson robs Yankee slugger Jack Clark of a home run with a perfectly timed leap in old Yankee Stadium (you know, the house that Ruth actually built).
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This play took place July 10, 1988 with the Kansas City Royals up 4-3 in Yankee Stadium with two outs in bottom of the 7th. Jack Clark launches what looks like it should be the game-tying home run to left. Except, Bo Jackson is patrolling the outfield.
Bo robs Clark of a home run, just as the New York crowd is screaming its approval (for Clark’s blast). Bo celebrates as the crowd falls into surly silence.
Not only did Bo rob Clark, he had also gunned down the Yankee DH at 2nd base for an outfield assist to lead off the 5th inning. Since Dave Winfield followed with a single and Gary Ward followed with a walk, Bo’s assist probably prevented another run.
Despite going 0-4, Bo’s defense saved the game.
The Royals went on to win 5-3.
Another interesting thing to notice is that Jack Clark was considered a big “slugger” in that era. He was the “power bat” for the 1985 Cardinals that lost to the Royals in the World Series.
Clark looks like a twig compared to Bo Jackson.
Next: July 29, 1988
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 4. The Time-Out Home Run
Now, we’re getting to the real Paul Bunyoneque plays of Bo Jackson’s career. Everything from now on, looks, and sounds, like something out of legend.
In the past, such stories were told by old men about the legends of the game. No one knew whether they should believe them or not. With Bo Jackson, we have the video.
You can judge for yourself whether the myth lives up to the reality.
Bo steps to the plate in the bottom of the 4th inning on July 29, 1988 against the Orioles. The Kansas City Royals are leading 3-1 with Pat Tabler on first and Frank White on second.
Bo holds up his hand, requesting a time out. Home plate umpire Mike Reilly doesn’t say a word and Baltimore starter Jeff Ballard throws a pitch.
Jackson realizes that he doesn’t have a time out, and blasts Ballard’s hanging curveball into the seats behind left field for a 3-run home run.
The KC Royals led 6-1 and eventually go on to win 6-2.
Guess the object lesson was: if Bo doesn’t want to hit, thank your lucky stars that you know for certain he’s not going to beat your brains in over the next few seconds.
I mean, really. This feat seems to fit right in with Babe Ruth’s legendary called shot, or something that Bernard Malamud made up for Roy Hobbs in The Natural.
Superscout, and storytelling legend, Buck O’Neil marveled after Bo’s first batting practice home run when a Jackson shot hit the crown behind centerfield in Royals Stadium. O’Neil claimed that he had only heard a sound like that 3 times in his life: 1) Babe Ruth, 2) Josh Gibson, and 3) Bo Jackson.
Holy crap. That’s good company.
Next: July 11, 1990
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 3. Bo Climbs The Wall In Baltimore: Because He Can And You Can’t
So, imagine for a second that you are Bo Jackson. You ooze more tools than any 10 major-league players. Nike has built an entire series of TV commercials around you being able to do anything.
Guys on their way to both the NFL and MLB Hall-of-Fame WISH they could do the stuff you do.
What do you do after making a running catch in centerfield?
Hey, here’s this green thingy in my way. I’ve run over Brian Bosworth. I’ve won the MVP at the All-Star game. I ran a 4.12 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. Little kids are running around in shoes named after me.
I know! Let’s play spiderman!
Gosh, it’s so easy, why doesn’t everybody do it? This baseball thing is a snap.
The above sounds like what you do as a kid in a park, or in your backyard, playing games of make believe. For Bo Jackson, he did this in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.
Except, if you’re Bo Jackson you get to keep playing make believe when you’re 27 years old. And, when you tell Mom and Dad about what you’ve achieved, you’ve got the video to back it up.
Bo Jackson, of course, wasn’t making it up.
And that, boys and girls, is why Bo was a legend. He approached the game with a child-like glee because major-league parks and NFL stadiums simply weren’t big enough to contain his talents. The feats required to achieve on the big league stage were so easily within reach, he had the energy to spend looking for stunts.
And he did them. On the first try.
I mean, do you really practice running up the wall to expend your momentum? Of course not. Maybe a showboat would. But, for Bo Jackson, he’d clearly try this stuff on the spur of the moment. Because it was fun.
Remember, this was BEFORE movie CGI made impossible feats seem humdrum. Bo Jackson was the closest most people ever came to visualizing Superman’s comic book feats.
Where is that in sports?
I miss it.
Next: September 14, 1986
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 2. Bo’s First Major-League Home Run
Bo Jackson shocked the sports world in June of 1986 by choosing to sign with the Kansas City Royals rather than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were prepared to shower the biggest contract in NFL history on the guy they picked no. 1 overall in the NFL draft.
What most people did not know, is that the Bucs had flown Bo to Tampa on owner Hugh Culverhouse’s private jet to meet with the team before the draft. Bo, however, was concerned about his NCAA eligibility, because the NCAA had some truly Byzantine rules about amateur status.
Bucs officials assured him they had checked with the NCAA, who told them it was ok. So, Bo gets on the plane to Tampa.
Except the Buccaneers lied.
No one had checked with the NCAA, and shortly thereafter, the NCAA disqualified his collegiate eligibility, ruining what was a fabulous college baseball season.
Bo exploded. He told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that they could draft him if they wanted, but he wouldn’t play for them under any circumstances. He believed that Tampa Bay had deliberately set him up to violate NCAA rules because they feared he might play baseball.
Tampa Bay made Bo Jackson the no.1 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft.
Whatever the truth might be, doesn’t really matter. Bo believed it. And it made him put in a call to the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, telling them he wanted to play for the team.
So the KC Royals took him in the 4th round of the 1986 draft, because no one really believed he would pick baseball over football.
So Bo signs with the Kansas City Royals June 29, 1986 and heads for AA Memphis to begin his baseball career. However, many people thought it was a joke. That Bo was simply avoiding playing for the moribund Bucs. After piddling around in baseball, everyone expected he’d get serious and play in the NFL.
All of that formed a long prologue to Bo’s first major league home run.
See, the Royals brought Bo Jackson to Kansas City in a September call-up. The team had disappointed their fans with a 68-75 record after their 1985 title, but showcasing the rookie football legend in a Royals uniform relieved some of the sting.
On September 14, 1986 Bo blasts his first major league home run off Seattle starter Mike Moore.
However, if you’re Bo Jackson, not just any old home run will do. No.
Bo instead launches the LONGEST HOME RUN IN ROYALS HISTORY.
The majestic tape-measure shot flies 475 feet into the high embankment that used to reside behind the left-center wall before the 2010 renovation.
Not only is that blow still the longest home run hit in Kauffman Stadium, it also made the entire sports world realize Bo was serious about baseball.
No one, by the way, remembers that the Royals lost the game 10-3.
Next: June 5, 1989
Bo Jackson’s best play’s as a Kansas City Royal player: 1. The Throw
I ranked this play the 9th greatest moment in Kansas City Royals history in an earlier post.
I wrote:
"No one really remembers the situation either, unless they go back and watch the video. Which, really, is quite amazing because Bo Jackson make what is probably his most spectacular defensive play of his career in a clutch situation. The Royals and Mariners were tied in the bottom of 10th inning in Seattle, when backup catcher Scott Bradley doubled into the left-field corner. With the fast Harold Reynolds at first base, he looked certain to score the winning run. Except Bo Jackson throws a 310-foot strike to home plate FROM THE WARNING TRACK. Harold Reynolds wasn’t exactly slow. He led the American League in stolen bases two years before and was still one of the fastest players in the league. Reynolds absolute disbelief was part of what made The Throw iconic. He slammed his batting helmet on the turf after he was called out, and stood at home plate with a bewildered look on his face."
Twenty-five years after Bo Jackson last played for Kansas City, The Throw is the play that everyone remembers. Part of it is that Harold Reynolds is now a host of Baseball Tonight on ESPN, and his co-workers will dredge up this video to tease him.
Still, think about it from Harold Reynolds point of view. A guy who made 2 All-Star teams and stole 250 bases in his career is best remembered for a play BO JACKSON made against him.
Looking back at Bo Jackson, you can’t help but wonder what he might have become. Bo was still growing as a baseball player. Every year of his Royals career, his OPS+ improved until he posted a 142 (42% above league average) in 1990.
Then he injured his hip in January of 1991 when he was tackled from behind in a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
He was never the same.
Bo’s football career ended. He had a gaudy 5.4 yards per carry average, which is more than NFL Hall-of-Famers Jim Brown (5.2 ypc), Barry Sanders (5.0 ypc), and Gale Sayers (5.0 ypc).
Bo hung on to play baseball for three more seasons with the Angels and White Sox. His damaged hip made him limp. Bo was a shadow of his former greatness, but could still shock and amaze occasionally—especially with his cannon arm:
Bo Jackson’s Career Stats:
MLB
| Year | Tm | PA | AB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | KCR | 91 | 82 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 34 | .207 | .286 | .329 | .615 | 67 |
| 1987 | KCR | 434 | 396 | 17 | 2 | 22 | 53 | 10 | 4 | 30 | 158 | .235 | .296 | .455 | .750 | 94 |
| 1988 | KCR | 468 | 439 | 16 | 4 | 25 | 68 | 27 | 6 | 25 | 146 | .246 | .287 | .472 | .758 | 108 |
| 1989 ★ | KCR | 561 | 515 | 15 | 6 | 32 | 105 | 26 | 9 | 39 | 172 | .256 | .310 | .495 | .805 | 124 |
| 1990 | KCR | 456 | 405 | 16 | 1 | 28 | 78 | 15 | 9 | 44 | 128 | .272 | .342 | .523 | .866 | 142 |
| 1991 | CHW | 84 | 71 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 25 | .225 | .333 | .408 | .742 | 107 |
| 1993 | CHW | 308 | 284 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 45 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 106 | .232 | .289 | .433 | .722 | 94 |
| 1994 | CAL | 224 | 201 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 72 | .279 | .344 | .507 | .851 | 117 |
| 8 Yrs | 2626 | 2393 | 86 | 14 | 141 | 415 | 82 | 32 | 200 | 841 | .250 | .309 | .474 | .784 | 112 | |
| 162 Game Avg. | 613 | 559 | 20 | 3 | 33 | 97 | 19 | 7 | 47 | 196 | .250 | .309 | .474 | .784 | 112 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
NFL
| Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | Att | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | YScm |
| 1987 | 25 | RAI | FB | 7 | 81 | 554 | 4 | 91 | 6.8 | 79.1 | 11.6 | 16 | 136 | 8.5 | 2 | 23 | 2.3 | 19.4 | 690 |
| 1988 | 26 | RAI | FB | 10 | 136 | 580 | 3 | 25 | 4.3 | 58.0 | 13.6 | 9 | 79 | 8.8 | 0 | 27 | 0.9 | 7.9 | 659 |
| 1989 | 27 | RAI | RB | 11 | 173 | 950 | 4 | 92 | 5.5 | 86.4 | 15.7 | 9 | 69 | 7.7 | 0 | 20 | 0.8 | 6.3 | 1019 |
| 1990* | 28 | RAI | 10 | 125 | 698 | 5 | 88 | 5.6 | 69.8 | 12.5 | 6 | 68 | 11.3 | 0 | 18 | 0.6 | 6.8 | 766 | |
| Career | 38 | 515 | 2782 | 16 | 92 | 5.4 | 73.2 | 13.6 | 40 | 352 | 8.8 | 2 | 27 | 1.1 | 9.3 | 3134 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
ESPN’s 30 for 30 did a film on Bo Jackson’s career. Do yourself a favor. Watch it. The link leads to the full video on Youtube.
Next: Greatest Moments In Royals History
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